Open and Inclusive
The summer of my freshman year of High School I went on a backpacking trip where I encountered Jesus in a way that I had not previously experienced. It was a life-altering experience where I, confronted with the reality of who God is and who I am, made a decision to dedicate myself to following Jesus. I found a small group of people where I felt like I belonged. It was a really powerful experience to feel loved by a group of people that barely knew me. However, when I got back to school, I was facing a foundational question: In light of the decision I had made, where does that leave me with this group of friends who did not make a similar decision? I was asking the question, “Where do I belong?”
We see a picture of belonging in Acts 2 that goes to answer that question. We see a group of people who are dedicating themselves and their lives to the mission and each other. We see a group of people that know and love each other. As a result, the Lord is adding to their number daily. They are joining the Lord in His work and people are experiencing God’s goodness through people. What a beautiful picture! However, I don’t know about you, but this hasn’t always been my experience with church. You might be surprised to hear this about a high school group, but one of the biggest complaints people have is that the church feels “cliquey.” Why is that? I think it's because it’s easier to love what we know. Exclusive and familiar is easy. Open and inclusive can be difficult.
So, how can we take steps to be an open and inclusive community? I think it starts with accepting people where they are at. I would imagine in the Acts 2 church there are people that are experiencing the love of the community and feel like they belong to the community LONG before they share the beliefs of the community. The church wasn’t threatened by doubts or people who didn’t have it all figured out. People belonged before they believed. This is a challenge to us...Can we be a safe space to figure it out? Can we love people where they are at with all of the messiness that comes along with that?
As a 15-year old with hair past his shoulders, nailing my Robert Plant impression and trying to figure out where I belonged, the answer didn’t come from a community that had all the right answers. It came from a community that loved me, no matter where I was at, and created a safe space for me to figure it out with all the mess that came with me. I belonged and I was loved. May we strive to be that place for each person in our community.
Pastor Seth Redden
High School Ministries
Generosity
“They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.” Acts 2:45-46
Some years ago, I had the privilege of going with a small group on a short-term mission trip to Amman, Jordan where most of the group taught Iraqi refugee adults English and I taught 25-30 beautiful Iraqi children for two weeks. It was an unforgettable experience but one of my best memories of those weeks, came one night when a few of us were invited to the home of a family after class. Their home had two rooms for the five members of their family, and they had almost nothing, yet were so excited to have us come! They served hot tea and cookies and never have I felt so welcome and cherished as an almost stranger in someone’s home as I did that night. It was humbling and put a whole new perspective on generous hospitality for me.
We often only think of generosity in monetary terms yet if we look at Jesus, we see his generosity everywhere he went. He always seemed to touch people, change them and make them better. A kind word, a touch of healing, a rebuke, a prayer, everywhere he went he changed people. The world has never been the same since Jesus, and he intends that our world should not be the same as the result of our path through it. It starts with our relationship with God first and out of that flows our other relationships. Proverbs 11:25 tells us that “a generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” We can ask God to bring someone across our path that we can refresh with encouragement, prayer, or hospitality. Winston Churchill said “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give.” We may think we have little to give but God finds great joy in our gifts. You may think you don’t have much time, money, or talent but God always starts with what you do have when you freely offer yourself to him. He sees your generous heart, will give you an opportunity to use talents you didn’t know you have and will multiply your time and resources. He already has a plan and you are part of it. Here is assurance for us this week from 2nd Corinthians: “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion.”
Deb Hill
Executive Assistant
Supernatural Community
This week we’re looking at Acts 2:42-47, and there we see the new church flourishing. In these verses we see that they devoted themselves to obedience and fellowship, then God allowed the apostles to perform “awesome” signs and wonders. Undoubtedly these supernatural events served as a massive confirmation and encouragement to the early church’s faith.
Two thousand years later, the pattern still holds up. In 1986 my accident rocked my family. EFCC was devoted to intercessory prayer, asking the Lord for my healing and protection in spite of a hopeless prognosis. They rallied around my folks eager to help in any way they could. In the Lord’s sovereignty, he performed wonders and signs throughout the whole ordeal. The church was encouraged by every bit of good news from my parents. The Lord eventually brought me through, but in many ways, that was just the beginning of a very hard road for us. Still, the church body continued to help on all fronts and saw first hand God’s plan for my life unfold. During that first Fall season, the church had a praise and thanksgiving service where my folks brought me so people could see God’s providence first hand. It was a wonderful time, or so I’m told.
As mentioned above in Acts, God performed wonders and signs inspiring awe and encouraging close community and fellowship in the church. The challenge today is to stay devoted and be alert for God’s miraculous and “awesome” providence.
Jonathan Duncan
The Joys of Patient Devotion
I have a family member who is an impatient cook (hint: it is not Darica). Recently he decided to make a burger for dinner. After taking the skillet out and putting it on the stove, he turned the heat to high and put his patty on to cook. Can anyone imagine what happened after just a few minutes? You guessed it, the outside was nice and brown but the inside was about as raw as it was when he took the meat out of the fridge. Essentially, he tried to experience all of the goodness of a fully cooked burger without taking the time to fully cook the burger. And what happened to this family member of mine in the kitchen can happen to us as followers of Christ. There are things we see and really want to be part of, but we try to shortcut the process by speeding it up. Some things, like a good burger, just take time.
In Acts 2:42 we read that these early Christians “were continually devoting themselves to the apostle’s teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” As I re-read that verse recently, the words continually devoting stood out, and I thought immediately of the amazing group of friends with whom I have been in a Life Group for many years. By God’s grace, and with some patient devotion on the part of all of us, we have achieved something that I have longed for a long time. These are my people. But we didn’t get there overnight.
I have heard it said that intimacy is the number and depth of shared experiences. As I think back to the Christians described in this week’s passage, there is no doubt they had both. They were continually devoting themselves to learning and to fellowship (see also verse 46). I am sure there were times when they didn’t feel like being there. I am sure there were times when they wondered if the church had another group they could join. I am sure they had relational hiccups along the way, and I am sure they grew tired of opening their homes and cleaning up and doing all that goes into hosting a group of people for dinner and a discussion. But if I read the text right, they powered through because of their devotion.
As we launch into a week of thinking about what it means to be together on the journey, would you allow me to challenge you to consider two things? First, if you do not have a handful of people with whom you are pursuing Christ, make a commitment to find them, and don’t give up until you do. Second, when you do find them, make a commitment to stay continually devoted even when things get tough and you feel like giving up. As people who are enjoying the fruits of making both of these commitments, I can tell you that each time our group sees each other or meets together, it is “with gladness and sincerity of heart.” (verse 46)
I’ll see you along the way,
Scott Smith
Connections & Growth Pastor
You Can Do It!
While some of you immediately think of Rob Schneider’s famous line from the movie The Water Boy, I am not! What I am thinking about is presenting you with a practical method for actually being a disciple who makes disciples.
As a college student, I was very involved with The Navigators. I don’t know if you’re familiar with this organization? They are a worldwide ministry with a laser-sharp focus on making disciples who make disciples. As they discipled me, they taught me so much about being a disciple as well as how to disciple others. For about seven years I was a disciple who was making disciples. Then I went to seminary and into vocational ministry, and for some reason, the focus got crowded out by other things. But recently my passion and participation in the work of disciple-making has returned. Part of that is due to some people God has brought into my life. And part of it is due to a simple (but not simplistic) method that has been shared with me, and which I am currently using to disciple two young adults (with the expectation that they will soon begin to disciple others who will eventually disciple others!). So, “What’s the method,” you ask? Great question. Let me share it with you.
Each week we meet, and at the center of our time together is reading through a book of the Bible. We read the text out loud together, then we pray, and then we ask ourselves these three questions (you may have seen or heard them before): (1) What is Jesus saying to you through this passage? (2) What is one thing you can do in response to what He is saying? (3) Whom will you tell?
While it seems simple, it is profound because it allows for three things to happen. First, we are listening for what God is saying to us. We aren’t typically accessing commentaries or Study Bibles. We try to stay in the text and seek to discern how the Spirit is illuminating it. Second, we focus on doing something about what God has shown us. This is where it gets fun. We are trying to take incremental steps of obedience, faith, and growth. And because continual growth is something that keeps our Christian lives fresh and relevant, I have found a renewed passion in my walk through this focus on doing “one thing.” (Don’t underestimate the power of one!) Third, we are focused on sharing with others what we are learning (at this point who you tell is less important than that you tell).
There is obviously more to this method, and we hope to roll out additional guidance and training in the weeks to come. But for now, I want to challenge you to pray for someone to meet with, and when God answers, use this method so that you can be a disciple who makes disciples who make disciples.
With God’s help, you can do it!
Pastor Scott Smith
Connections & Growth Pastor
Share the Gospel to know the Power
Jesus said to his disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Then in Acts 2, it happens. The Holy Spirit falls on the believers gathered together. They witnessed that power in the form of tongues of fire and they heard that power as each other’s words were transformed into languages they never knew.
The apostle Paul experienced God’s power in a different, but still, life-altering way, as a light shone down on him and Jesus' voice confronted him, leaving him blinded with some kind of scales covering his vision (Acts 9:1-19).
Those are cool stories, and a demonstration of how God used that initial spark of power to get the church off and running. I’m glad that happened to those leaders of the early church, but It’s never happened to me. Nothing even close to those experiences has ever happened to me. Maybe that’s why I often don’t feel like I know God’s power. In those moments I’m looking for the wrong thing. God’s power is available to all believers, but it isn’t going to affect the way I feel while I’m focused on myself.
Believers can experience God’s power in personal supernatural ways; it's not a long shot or a pipe dream. The reason we miss out is because we don’t see how God’s power is often portrayed in the New Testament. Or if we know, we haven't decided to share it with anyone. Check out these Scriptures to see the regular ongoing manifestation of God’s power.
“Jesus replied, ‘You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God'” (Matt 22:29). - Power goes along with the Scriptures.
“With great power, the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was powerfully at work in them all” (Acts 4:33). - Power is in testifying of Jesus’ resurrection.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16). - Power is in the gospel.
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God.” (1 Cor 1:18). - Power is in the message of the cross.
“And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” (1 Cor 2:1-5). - Power is in the testimony about God, even when shared in weakness, fear, and trembling.
So there it is, God’s power goes out of us when we share the gospel, even if we do not feel powerful; the power is not in us, unless the gospel is in us. Power comes out of us when the gospel goes out of us to others.
Share the gospel and experience the powerful things God will do!
Pastor John Riley
Junior High Pastor
The Gift of Presence
Have you ever felt alone? We all have had moments where we are physically alone; when we long for the presence of another human being just because we are scared, sad, or uncertain about our surroundings. My husband often recalls a story about the terrors of hiking in the Sierras in the middle of the night after returning a homesick, timid student to his parents. Darkness, obscured path, lurking shadows - no thank you!
What emotions have you experienced when you felt alone? Fear? Uncertainty? Anxiety? Desperation? Similar feelings of loneliness were likely experienced by the disciples following Jesus’ death. They had just spent three years devoting their lives to following their Rabbi and friend. They trusted Jesus and believed that following him meant he would be there in their time of need. Then all of a sudden his words started to make some sense. Jesus was arrested, tried, tortured and then hung on a cross to die. Three days later he appeared to them alive! Confusion probably just barely describes the emotions that were swirling within their souls. After his resurrection, Jesus came before the disciples with a challenge; the next steps that would be required to keep following him. He told them to keep going, to train and instruct others what he had taught them to practice. Even so, Matthew 28:17 says that some doubted. It was clear that this path would not be easy, that they would face hardships and likely feel alone. Yet, the point of commitment seemed plausible because of Jesus’ words in verse 20 where he concludes his challenge with, “behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
God’s promise of presence is not for a fleeting moment but for eternity. He walks with us through the dark paths and the lurking shadows. He is also with us in the joys and celebrations of life! He doesn’t promise that life will be without trials. In fact, following Jesus is not easy and many will reject the truth. 2 Timothy 1:7 tells us that, “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” Timothy goes on to say in verse 14, “Through the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us, carefully guard the precious truth that has been entrusted to you.” We do not need to fear because we are empowered by the Holy Spirit who is always with us! This is amazing! Not only are we never left alone but we possess the presence of the Almighty who is with us at every moment of every day.
When has God’s presence been so real that it makes you giddy and you just want to shout for joy; telling the world about his amazing grace!? Try starting a “Presence Journal”. Write down every time you feel God’s presence supernaturally sustaining you, then share it with others.
When has God felt distant? When has his presence seemed vague or unavailable? When have you been afraid to proclaim your faith and hope in Jesus? During these times of desolation, revisit your Presence Journal and recall the moments when God’s presence has been evident. Ask that he will make himself real to you. God loves to answer his children who call out to him!
Lynette Fuson
Director of Counseling & Soul Care
The Command of a Disciple
19 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” - Matthew 28:19-20
In yesterday’s devotional, Pastor Luke aptly pointed out that in this breathtaking command of Jesus, the central command is “make disciples.” To be clear, this means that, even though the English translation makes it sound like “go” is a command, it isn’t. In fact, in the original Greek language, “go” isn’t a command at all. Wait, hold on for a minute. Did you catch that? In this iconic passage, I am suggesting that Jesus did not command his disciples to go!
However, I don’t want you to walk away from this thinking that Jesus doesn’t want his disciples to “go.” In fact, I want to suggest that the way Jesus says this has an even stronger force than a command. Clearly, Jesus could have structured his sentence with two imperatives. He could have commanded them to go and to make disciples. Grammatically, that would not have been difficult. Instead, Jesus does something more powerful. He assumes that any disciple of his would become a person who goes.
It would be pointless to command a human to breathe and it would be a waste of that breath to command a fish to swim. You don’t command birds to fly or dogs to bark. You don’t command these things, specifically, because you assume that they will. You know that it is in their nature to do these things, without having been told to do so. This is what Jesus is suggesting about disciples. He is saying that it is in the nature of a disciple to become a person who goes. Literally, his words could be translated, “While you are going…” Jesus assumed that any disciple of his would want to go out and tell as many people as they could about the good news. Why? Because that is what disciples do. Going should be as natural to a disciple as breathing.
However, what we do when we go (wherever we go) is key! Jesus wants us to do more than just share the good news, he wants us to help people become disciples who share the good news and make more disciples. We do that through teaching people the way of life that Jesus taught us to live and by baptizing them into a new identity. Therefore, if you are a disciple, you have been given a new way to live, you were crucified with Christ, buried with him, you are going to rise with him, and because of all that, while you go, wherever you go, be a disciple who makes disciples.
Josh Rose
Teaching Pastor
Famous Last Words?
Please turn to Mt 28:16-20. Are these audacious “famous last words” of a lunatic rabbi or words that truly changed the world as we know it? This famous passage, known as the Great Commission, consists of three parts: a statement of facts, a command that is based on these facts, and a promise attached to that command.
The facts are revolutionary:
Jesus the Savior has risen, His victory over death secured, His claims validated, His assignment completed. Jesus the Teacher finished the training of his apprentices and is about to send them out to continue what He started. Jesus the King is in charge, holding 100% of power and authority, His Kingdom inaugurated and poised to transform everything.
The command is breathtaking:
“Go... and make disciples of all nations” or, to capture the original Greek more literally, “as you are going... make disciples of all people groups”. The central command in the passage is to “make disciples of all people groups”, which necessitates “going” and involves “baptizing” and “teaching them to obey” everything Jesus commanded. It is a breathtaking vision for a global movement of disciples of Jesus who make disciples of Jesus… until there are disciples of Jesus everywhere.
The promise gives endless courage:
“I am with you always, to the end of the age”. The Savior, Teacher, and King promise to be with those He sent, every day, to the very end. This promise of His uninterrupted presence and the reality of His unlimited power is what made His followers bold and courageous in the face of opposition and turned them into an unstoppable movement throughout history.
Jesus’ “famous last words” turned out to be true, proving he is not a lunatic or a liar, but Lord. If you are a follower of Jesus in the United States today, it is because His vision expressed to the eleven disciples on a mountain in Galilee 7,600 miles away, covered all nations around the world. You are living proof that his plan for saving humanity has worked for 2,000 years and you stand on the shoulders of approximately 100 generations of disciples who made disciples who made disciples of all people groups… including yours.
Now it’s your turn to continue what Jesus started. Whether you are going to make disciples across the room, across the street, across the city, or across the world, remember:
Everything belongs to Jesus.
Everyone who follows Jesus is sent.
Everywhere you go you have an opportunity to make disciples of Jesus.
Every day Jesus is present with you.
How will you make disciples of Jesus as you go to... [fill in the blank with whatever is on your calendar today]
Let Mercy Lead
“ . . . everyone, when he is fully trained, will be like his teacher . . . he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock.” - Luke 6:40 & 48
What would someone who is “like his teacher” look like? What is the deep foundation, “on the rock” that Jesus is talking about in this passage? There is no way that I would have enough space in a devotional like this to answer those questions. That is unless I move from the world of prose into the world of poetry. Some concepts are just too big and too complex for the confines of regular prose. This is one of them, and so I am going to need to turn to a musical poet for inspiration.
One of my all-time favorite Christian musicians… ok, maybe just one of my favorite Christians period, was a guy named Rich Mullins. Rich was a lyrical genius and a poet, who wrote some of the greatest Christian music of the 80s and 90s, and some of the greatest lyrics of all time. One of my favorites is a song that he wrote for his best friend’s son, Aidan. Before Aidan was born, David Stasser, asked Rich “to write a song for [his son] that will take him through life.” I want to share these words with you today (and I’d encourage you to listen to the song as well) because I think that Rich’s poetic advice might be some of the best you can give to anyone who is wanting to become like the Teacher. In fact, I can’t think of any better advice for those of us who want to build our lives on a firm foundation. My prayer today is that you will learn to let mercy lead.
Aidan the day
Aidan the day will come
You'll run the race
That takes us way beyond
All our trials and all our failures
And all the good we dream of
But you can't see yet where it is you're heading
But one day you'll see the face of love
Let mercy lead
Let love be the strength in your legs
And in every footprint that you leave
There'll be a drop of grace
If we can reach
Beyond the wisdom of this age
Into the foolishness of God
That foolishness will save
Those who believe
Although their foolish hearts may break
They will find peace
And I'll meet you in that place
Let mercy lead
Pastor Josh Rose
Teaching Pastor
Youtube Video with lyrics link: click here
Spotify link: click here